Patient, Heal Thyself!: How an Army Vet Did While Helping His Comrades

WASHINGTON -- Justin Minyard, a 9/11 first responder at the Pentagon who went on to serve tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, insists "medical technology really did save my life."

Justin Minyard

(Source: US Army)

The 13-year Army veteran appeared at a Capitol Hill briefing this week to discuss "innovations in veteran's care." The focus was not just on battlefield care, although there have been plenty of innovations since the beginning of the Afghan war in the fall of 2001. Military doctors and the companies that make medical technologies are now thinking about long-term care for the Afghan and Iraq war veterans standing in long lines at Veteran Administration hospitals seeking treatment for physical and psychological wounds.

Minyard's presence at the briefing was designed to showcase the marvels of medical technology, but it is also highlighted a larger problem: the VA's shocking propensity for dispensing opiates by the handfuls as a cure for everything from chronic pain to night sweats. Minyard was swept up in the dysfunction, and could have easily slipped beneath the water as have so many shattered veterans.

Instead, Minyard chose to heal himself.

Following the September 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon, Minyard ruptured several discs in his back while searching for survivors. Neither back surgeries nor drug regimens eased his pain. He suffered additional spinal injuries during a nighttime operation in Afghanistan in which he and other soldiers riding in a helicopter were to lower themselves to the desert floor by rope. Minyard missed the rope, fell 20 meters and five fully equipped comrades landed on top of him.

By the time he reached Iraq (he speaks Arabic), Minyard's chronic back pain from extensive nerve damage was so debilitating that he had to be medevacked to a field hospital. Prior to his collapse, he was receiving spinal injections and was injecting himself with pain killers before "we would lock and load our weapons and go out the gate" on another patrol.

More surgeries followed, but brought no relief. After a complex procedure in which eight titanium rods were inserted in his lower back, Minyard's prognosis boiled down to this: The doctors had done all they could and, at 28, he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

"I was in a massive amount of chronic pain that dominated my entire life."

Justin Minyard returned from Iraq a broken man, figuratively and literally. His encounters with the breathtakingly incompetent VA healthcare system predictably resulted in his addiction to opiates. His life was now reduced to little more than thinking about refilling his prescriptions and scheming to obtain higher dosages.

"I was occupying space," he recalled, deeply regretting the many times he snapped at his young daughter when she asked him to read to her. "My life took a very, very dark turn," the tall, ramrod straight Minyard told a packed room in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Thanks @gleopold, I really enjoyed this article. I saw a piece on PBS a few months ago where some military surgeons were working to get robotic limbs to be stimlulated from the brain with brain implants. There is some fascinating work going on in medical technology, and it is good to sometimes get the detailed story of the people affected by the technology.

Is the pain the only "problem", or is it syptomatic of more damage that might be happening? If it's just pain of course that would be great - of course not using the opiates is really nice, but I also have to wonder about loosing an important feedback loop in a system, and not abuse this as a panacea. From the sound of it in this specific (and I am sure many other) soldiers story this is a very important tool to increasing the quality of life for many people. On a personal note - would this be useful in joint and other pain?

This is a dramatic illustration of the fact that incremental treatments often lead to an unsatisfactory endpoint. It is important to look at the total medical situation to implement a comprehensive solution. Once the pain cycle is effectively managed, the possibility of functional improvement can be realized. The improvement in quality of life is obvious ... and there are also savings in lifetime medical costs.

Justin Minyard also serves as national spokesperson for www.RaceAgainstPain.com where he is performing yeoman's work highlighting the issues faced by vets who have returned from war to cope with a lifetime of chronic pain. One of the group's motto's is an insight attributed to Confucius: "It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop."

Spinal pain is very terrible. At young age many men and women do ignore it but after a certain age its just so difficult. This is an inspiring story for both medical and technology. I think the soldiers all over the world wold benfit from this.

@Warren3, I completely agree. This is a good read: Engineers at Boston Scientific -- and all engineers -- should feel proud they're doing such good things for people in need. I hope this tech is available to all vets, and anyone for that matter.

Amongst the difficulties presented by war, and the role technology plays there, this article was good for me to see; positive perseverance by the soldier/airman/marine and an[other] example of technology improving life.